Feature Requests

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by waterman480

Switch selection to choose displaying Raster, Vector or both chart types. :-)

Are you asking a question? If so, read the help documentation about chart groups. You can create chart groups with various combinations of charts and then select any one of the groups using right mouse click on the chart display. The same charts can be in multiple groups.

[waterman480]

Not looking to create chart groups - only for a switch to display only ENC,raster or both types of charts. It is annoying to scale in/out and have the chart type switch because the next chart is a different type. BTW, it was a greatly needed and long overdue improvement to prebuild SENC chart files instead of building on the fly.

[cagney]

Originally Posted by waterman480

Not looking to create chart groups - only for a switch to display only ENC,raster or both types of charts. It is annoying to scale in/out and have the chart type switch because the next chart is a different type. BTW, it was a greatly needed and long overdue improvement to prebuild SENC chart files instead of building on the fly.

I don't recognize the scenario you describe, and I use OpenCPN every day.
The way O works is like this. Say you have a full "piano" of different vector, raster and CM93 charts, green, blue and yellow keys respectively. If you click on a vector chart, O will only use vector charts when zooming in/out. Similar for raster and cm93. The only exception, and the only case when raster an vector charts are mixed, is if you have both raster and CM93 loaded and click on a raster chart and then pan to an area where there are no raster charts, CM93 will now kick in to cover this area.
So to only have vector charts, select a vector chart. To only use raster charts click on a raster chart in the piano.

Is your experience different? If so please give us some more details, maybe even some screen shots. I'm using Linux, what is your setup?

Thomas

[waterman480]

Bingo. This problem (Thus request) was occurring on my windows system, which has been exhibiting other issues. Checked my Linux system. It's is working as you described. Something went wrong with the windows upgrade to 4.6.1. Linux was a clean install. Completely uninstalled windows OpenCPN. Reinstalled. Now life is good again.

[dominig]

One of the pain and risk of electronic routing is to route over shalow waters without noticing it until too late.
One must review the entire route with a detailled scale what is a pain. Not doing it when you leave like me, in Brittany, is extremely 'risky'. I am sure that some other regions of the world provides similar challenges.

It would nice to get a feature which allow to check the depth along a given route with a route error parameter (e.g. +/- 1nm) and create a small graph (sonar style) where the min are visible. Pointing the mouse on the pics could tell the distance and the chart depth value.

I had students who looked at implementing that feature 2 years ago as a plugin but the API does not provide the data :-(

[dominig]

In Brittany we love our tides but seeing the level of water raising from 5m to 14m twice a day depending where you are can induce some "side effect".

B&G latest tools alllow to display on an instrument the status of nearest (or predefined) tide status.
- A simple arrow for up/down and current depth.
- With a clock next low or high time and depth info.

It would be a great tool in the Instrument plugin but the API does not provide access to the data.

[fgd3]

Originally Posted by dominig

It would nice to get a feature which allow to check the depth along a given route with a route error parameter (e.g. +/- 1nm) and create a small graph (sonar style) where the min are visible. Pointing the mouse on the pics could tell the distance and the chart depth value.(

Look at FS224 in the Tracker

https://opencpn.org/flyspray/index.p...ported%5B0%5D=

This feature request was opened 7 years ago. It's a great idea but seems to be difficult to implement.

Fabbian

[sinbad7]

Hi. Have you tried qtVlm Route planner?
It will plan your route cosidering wind,current and shallow depths taking also into account the shape/performance of your hull. Gratis...

Sinbad 7

[bcn]

A "route checker" with parameters for a safety "envelope" for a given vessel warning about shoals and obstructions, shore lines, TSS or other "no-go areas" is perhaps the most important missing tool in OpenCPN right now.
A route plan with warnings as one output perhaps. Interactive planning would be another goodie .

a ++1 from my side.

This implies to get the related objects and information from the vector charts.

The watchdog plug-in is doing this today for GSHHS shorelines and ODraw objects. But not as a planning instrument.

[emilecantin]

Adding a "description" field for routes.

I'm currently planning my summer navigation, and I've encountered a few times where I'd like to attach some form of notes to a route. (E.g "Leave 2h after high tide" or similar"). I know I could attach them to a waypoint, but sometimes it applies to the whole route, so it would make more sense there.

We already have it for tracks, and it's in the GPX standard, so I really think it would be a useful addition.

I have logged this on Github, and I even submitted a pull request that implements it back in February (https://github.com/OpenCPN/OpenCPN/pull/782), but I haven't received any response...

Any dev wants to look at it, please?

[one wolf]

As a long time user and yet never useful contributor :-( I have some suggestions purely for what they're worth - all related to the Route & Mark Manager

1. In the Route & Mark manager dialog box: add a button to "hide all" or "hide none". See image 1 below. This is a big usability issue for me. So many of my routes and tracks overlap each other I have to constantly hide some in order to select and edit others.
2. In the Route Properties dialog box: lots of room for usability improvements:
   1. Ability to select multiple routes and edit basic properties of all of them at once would be hugely useful. Color, line style, whether the waypoint names are shown or hidden. Doing all of these things route by route, waypoint by waypoint, is massively time consuming.
   2. Alternatively (or also), ability to change the Route Property defaults. I don't want waypoint names shown on any of my routes ever. I don't care the names and they clutter my chart.
3. Waypoint Properties dialog box - similar to Route Properties.
   • Double clicking a waypoint should open the Waypoint Properties box.
   • Ability to select multiple waypoints in a route and apply property changes to all of them at once rather than having to select each one.
   • Any time "enter" in the Waypoint Properties box is pressed, that should effectively be the same as using the mouse to select the "OK" button - which is highlighted as the default action for the enter button, but pressing enter doesn't do anything.

Just some thoughts from a long time and frequent user. Having to change 100 waypoints across 5 routes with basic properties - like what icon they use and whether to show the waypoint name or not, should take 5-6 clicks, not 400.

Thank you all for your volunteer efforts on this awesome tool.

[one wolf]

One more request, and I don't know how doable this is but will mention it anyway:

I use OpenCPN now as a route/waypoint/track editing tool to supplement my Simrad GPS (NSS EVO2). Simrad/Navico have no PC or web tools for this if you can believe it. Most people use Garmin's software. I prefer OpenCPN.

One issue is that waypoint icons don't transfer from OpenCPN to Simrad. I can make them little red/green cans in OpenCPN but they open up as blue X's on my Simrad. This might be a Simrad issue, I don't know. Similarly if I save a waypoint icon in my Simrad as a shoal symbol for example, it always opens in OpenCPN as a circle with a dot in it. Basically all of the waypoint icons load into OpenCPN as circles with dots.

So in effect, it's impossible for me to edit waypoint icons and have them go back and forth between Simrad and OpenCPN.

Known issue, not addressable?

[sbender]

Have you considered making OpenCPN able to be a SignalK client?

It would be very useful to those of use with extensive, existing SignalK servers running on the boat.

This could also get you N2K support for free.

Thanks!

[sbender]

I know this would be a huge effort, but I would love to see a Web/HTML5 version.

This would greatly open up the available clients and allow things like developers to be able to embed OpenCPN inside their applications.

thanks!

[rgleason]

One wolf:
Regarding http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post2392557

I suggest you register on Tracker
https://opencpn.org/flyspray/index.php?do=register

and add this item to the OpenCPN task,
starting the description with RM - your description and SAVE it.

Thenmake another for WP - your description

and also reference your CruiserForm post with a link.
and select "Feature Request"
Thanks.